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(CBS News)   Of course your dog loves you. You give him steak on the reg, right? RIGHT?   (cbsnews.com) divider line
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    More: Interesting, Brain, psychology professor Dr. John Pilley, Dog, Cerebral cortex, correspondent Anderson Cooper, Human brain, human brain, Dr. Greg Berns  
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1137 clicks; posted to D'awww » and STEM » on 28 Nov 2022 at 1:35 AM (16 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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question_dj [TotalFark]
2022-11-27 10:40:22 PM  
7 votes:
And I know I love my dog like I love a person.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Last Man on Earth
2022-11-28 8:15:18 AM  
4 votes:

skybird659: Define 'love'.


They experience a strong sense of bonding with and affection for their people, they associate being around them with safety, comfort, and companionship, they experience a loss and longing when those people aren't around, they get genuine pleasure from physical closeness and contact, their main person's voice can soothe them, they can pick up on their people being sad/scared/angry and want to make them feel better...  If that's not "love", I've had serious relationships built on a hell of a lot less.
 
natazha [BareFark]
2022-11-28 11:48:51 AM  
3 votes:

AppleOptionEsc: I know my mother's dogs do. Inevitably I end up with 3 dogs and a cat in my bed when I stay the night.

Coincidentally, my mother always wakes up cheerful and rested, while my back and knees look like a cartoon corpse who was pushed off a 12 story building and landed there in the morning.

I only visit maybe once a month. The love, it hurts.


You have described my nights, except for the cat. How two or three 20-lb dogs can occupy most of a queen-sized bed is a mystery. They also seem to gain weight at night, so moving them is a real project.
 
hegelsghost
2022-11-28 6:18:49 AM  
2 votes:
It is quite striking the close connection dogs have to humans. Cats, on the other hand, are sociopaths.
 
PerpetualPeristalsis
2022-11-28 12:05:59 PM  
2 votes:

Last Man on Earth: skybird659: Define 'love'.

They experience a strong sense of bonding with and affection for their people, they associate being around them with safety, comfort, and companionship, they experience a loss and longing when those people aren't around, they get genuine pleasure from physical closeness and contact, their main person's voice can soothe them, they can pick up on their people being sad/scared/angry and want to make them feel better...  If that's not "love", I've had serious relationships built on a hell of a lot less.


It's hard to spend much time with a dog as a family member and not feel love for, and from, them.  You become their world; that expression of joy you see when you walk in the door - even after an absence of 10 minutes - is the real article.  My dog will forego his favourite foods to have what we call a "visit":  a cuddle on the floor first thing in the morning.  To suggest that all of that is an elaborate ruse (at least as a starting hypothesis) is to look for the zebra.
 
skybird659 [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-27 9:02:15 PM  
1 vote:
Define 'love'.
 
question_dj [TotalFark]
2022-11-27 10:39:08 PM  
1 vote:
Yes, he got steak both Thursday and Friday. I know that I give my dog a sense of security. He knows that if he is with me, he is safe. And some times he seeks out affection from me.
 
Some Junkie Cosmonaut
2022-11-28 1:48:52 AM  
1 vote:

question_dj: And I know I love my dog like I love a person.

[Fark user image 425x566]


No means no, Question
 
FormlessOne
2022-11-28 8:47:49 AM  
1 vote:

Last Man on Earth: skybird659: Define 'love'.

They experience a strong sense of bonding with and affection for their people, they associate being around them with safety, comfort, and companionship, they experience a loss and longing when those people aren't around, they get genuine pleasure from physical closeness and contact, their main person's voice can soothe them, they can pick up on their people being sad/scared/angry and want to make them feel better...  If that's not "love", I've had serious relationships built on a hell of a lot less.


Or, y'know, tailored manipulation of pack instinct. However, as I'm running off similar hardware with newer firmware and a lot of software patches, I'm in no position to castigate a dog's UI. I can't play the "my organic chemistry & neurological programming is holier than thou" today, as I'm trying to make myself go to work in 2 hours by eating bread & hoping the carbs qualify as a hug.
 
Lochsteppe
2022-11-28 8:53:28 AM  
1 vote:

Last Man on Earth: skybird659: Define 'love'.

They experience a strong sense of bonding with and affection for their people, they associate being around them with safety, comfort, and companionship, they experience a loss and longing when those people aren't around, they get genuine pleasure from physical closeness and contact, their main person's voice can soothe them, they can pick up on their people being sad/scared/angry and want to make them feel better...  If that's not "love", I've had serious relationships built on a hell of a lot less.


Very well said. The past 10-15 years have produced a lot of science on dogs and their relationships with humans, and now we officially know what dog owners already knew: of course dogs bond with us and love us, pretty much unconditionally. Saying that they stay with us only/mostly because of food is as reductive as saying that a spouse stays with their partner because the partner makes dinners for them.

I think some people discount the notion because it would suggest that dogs are more morally fit than about 1/3 of humans, in spite of our gifts of reason, language, and the "divine spark." That can be a bitter pill to swallow.

Not accusing you of this, skybird. Just a general observation.
 
MythDragon [TotalFark]
2022-11-28 11:27:39 AM  
1 vote:

hegelsghost: It is quite striking the close connection dogs have to humans. Cats, on the other hand, are sociopaths.


Dogs: Humans provide me with food and water.  They must be gods.

Cats: Humans provide me with food and water. I must be a god.
 
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